Kurdish rebels rejected in Turkey peace overture

Published: Sunday, November 07, 1999

KAYSERI, Turkey {AP} Turkey's defense minister rejected peace overtures by Kurdish rebels as insincere, insisting Saturday that the rebels would not be able to talk themselves out of punishment, a news agency reported.

Sabahattin Cakmakoglu said the rebels started calling for peace only after their leader, Abdullah Ocalan, was captured by Turkish authorities in February.

"I do not believe in the sincerity of this," Cakmakoglu said, according to the Anatolia news agency.

"It is not possible to appease this nation until the members of the terrorist organization pay for what they have done," he added.

The rebels have fought a 15-year war for autonomy in Turkey's predominantly Kurdish southeast. The conflict has killed 37,000.

In August, the rebels announced a cease-fire and their withdrawal from Turkey. They urged Ankara to pardon all the rebels and increase Kurdish rights in Turkey.

In August, Parliament approved a partial amnesty for rebels who have not been formally charged in attacks on security forces.

Ocalan was sentenced to death for treason. An appeals court is scheduled to rule Nov. 25.

Turkey's 12 million Kurds are denied minority rights, such as Kurdish-language broadcasting and education.